San Pedro Ritual

Since I last posted I've covered a lot of ground. First I took a bus from Antigua over to Lake Atitlan in Guatamala. I took a mini-bus there and happened to be the only the passenger on board so I got to sit up front and chat with the driver who spoke excellent English. Apparently he also has a business in Springfield, Ohio (OH10), and spends several months of the year there. He pointed out a lot of different sights to me along the way, "See those buildings, they are all whorehouses. Only 50 Quetzales."

We stopped at an excellent restaurant along the way and took our time chatting, and taking pictures of the countryside. Eventually we arrived in Panajachel and I got my first look at Lake Atitlan. The lake itself is a collapsed volcano cone which has filled with water. It is now ringed by several inactive volcanoes which are covered with lush green forest and fields of maize. Just looking at the area itself is a worthwhile activity. It's no exaggeration to say it is one of the most breathtaking sights I've seen on this, or any other trip.

My Kiwi friend Bryce had told me I simply had to check out a town there called San Pedro La Laguna. He described it as a "...real laid back place..." And he was right. In fact San Pedro is almost a little too laid back for my tastes. I can easily see how one could spend six weeks here studying Spanish as Bryce did. The town has great restaurants, really chill bars, and just about every one of them shows a different Hollywood movie every night. The thing is, if you're on a time schedule, or only there for a couple of days there isn't much to do. There's really only two things to do in fact: kyak the lake, or climb the nearby San Pedro volcano.

While searching for a guesthouse along the main road I was quite surprised to hear someone calling out my name. I glanced around and saw my British friend Richard who I'd traveled with in Belize and Guatamala. I took this as a good omen and checked into the same hotel as him and his traveling companion Eamer. We set out for drinks and discussed what we'd been up to since we parted ways weeks ago in Rio Dulce. They highly recommended El Salvador to me, but I'll have no time for it on this trip.

The next day I wandered around getting to know the town. Had coffee, did some reading, and got a haircut. San Pedro has great coffee. Probably better even than the fabled coffee of Antigua. The town also has a strong Mayan presence, especially when you get off the main roads and disappear into the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, the main area of town is full of burned out hippie travelers who seem to while away their days smoking weed, selling tacky necklaces, and living off their trust funds.

Eventually, deciding I needed something to do I signed up for a hike up the nearby San Pedro volcano. The tour left at 6am the next morning, and the hike up the volcano was four hours long. Four hours long at about a seventy degree angle the whole way. This was certainly a harder hike than the one up Pacaya by a long shot. The challenge itself was one of the reasons I did it. Along the way there were several lookout points where we stopped to take pictures and marvel at how far we'd come. Around 1/4 of the way there our guide told us we were half way. This trend of light deception continued the whole way, and served to keep me from turning back.

Once we'd reached the top of the volcano, however it all seemed worthwhile. We sat among the clouds eating bananna bread and drinking copius amounts of water. In between passing clouds we got a spectacular view of the lake and the towns below. After an hour or so we started our decent which took about three hours. I'm writing this passage five days later and my calves still hurt. Thankfully my siatica didn't act up. I'd hate to have had to come down the whold mountainside on my rear.

The next day I got up early and started the four hour journey back to Antigua, where I booked an overnight bus to Belize City. All the usual hassels involved in long range bus travel were present and accounted for. Inedible food, a smelly latrine with a broken door, and the requisite two hour wait for a connecting bus at the border. But thirty hours later I arrived in Belize City, where I immediately jumped another bus to head to Orange Walk.

Orange Walk is a small city about two hours north of Belize City and is commonly used as a jumping off point to check out the Mayan pyramids of Lamanai, exactly the reason I was headed there. Upon arrival I checked into a hotel, booked my tour for the morning and ate a simple meal of chicken, rice, and beans. There was a television in my room, and in my exhausted state I spent the evening lounging in my hotel and watching Comedy Central and CNN.

The tour the next day was quite nice. It started at 9am and we took an hour plus motorboat ride along a long, winding river surrounded by dense jungle. We stopped along the way as our guides pointed out iguana, crocodiles, and various tropical birds.

The archeological site itself was a good one. We had a very informative guide, and scaled the tallest of the structures for a nice view of the river. I actually enjoyed this site quite a bit more than Copan.

I'll be headed back over to Caye Caulker later today for some snorkeling, and possibly more diving if my budget allows.